I once read a Batman comic that began with the line “I’ve seen the future and it works.” The direct quote can be traced back to the communist tendencies of the early 20th century, but the new context came from Minneapolis’ proudest son—Prince.

Prince is a man of many talents (Purple Rain anyone?), but his work for the Tim Burton Batman films help complete the derailed futurism of Burton’s Gotham. It’s fundamentally different than Christopher Nolan’s hyper-real version, steeped in the Joker’s mass hysteria and comic book gags. But what Burton gets at better than Nolan is the tragedy inherent to humor, and Prince’s music fits in perfectly.

So get your bat dance on and let’s get to suds. I’m feeling Hopalicious today, as Wisconsin celebrates over one million signatures gathered in one of the nation’s strangest policies.